The father of missing RAF gunner Corrie McKeague is reported to have blocked the entrance to a landfill site where police were searching for his son.

Officers sifted through 6,500 tonnes of waste at a site in Milton, Cambridgeshire, in an "unprecedented'' search for the 23-year-old who disappeared from Bury St Edmunds following a night out in September.

The search, which began in March, was halted last week after no trace of the serviceman was found.

His father, Martin McKeague, was photographed at the landfill site near Cambridge with his motorhome blocking the entrance.

He told the Cambridge News: "I hope they make the right decision ... to continue to look for my son.

"The facts and all the evidence lies in this landfill site and as father, or mother, or anybody, I think you would probably do the same thing.

"I need them to do the right thing and continue to look for Corrie.''

Corrie's mother Nicola Urquhart has previously said she is considering taking out an injunction to stop officers filling in the 48-hectare Milton landfill site "until there is more honesty and plain speaking from the police''.

Police said Mr McKeague, from Fife, Scotland, but based at Honington, Suffolk, had a history of falling asleep in unusual places, including in bins.

A bin lorry was seen on CCTV near Brentgovel Street in the Bury St Edmunds around the time Mr McKeague was last seen, and it took a route which appeared to coincide with the movements of his phone.

The bin lorry linked to the disappearance of Mr McKeague was initially thought to have collected an 11kg (1st 10lb) load, but police said it was later found to be more than 100kg (15st 10lb).

Detective Superintendent Katie Elliott of Suffolk Police said any new lines of inquiry would be pursued "vigorously'', adding: "We have searched the whole area where we believed Corrie could be.

"We had compelling information that directed us to this area, however we haven't found Corrie and this is bitterly disappointing.

"It's never been about money in this investigation.

"We have searched the areas where we have information where that waste was deposited.

"Beyond that it's very difficult to establish exactly where we would search for Corrie.''

Asked if she thought Mr McKeague was still on the landfill site, she replied: "I do.''

Mr McKeague's girlfriend April Oliver announced last month that the missing serviceman had become a father with the birth of their daughter.

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